Disappearing tower for submarines.



APPLICATION FILED 050.13. i9l6.

Patented Mar. 11,1919.

Fllllllflllll lllel llllllllll TYNTTE ins nrnnr carton ROBERT S. NOAH,OF ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR TO HENRY B. REINHARDT, TRUSTEE, OFROLAND PARK, MARYLAND.

DISAPPEARING TOWER- FOR SUBMARINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 13, 1916. Serial No. 136,792.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, ROBERT S. NOAH, a citizen of the United States,residing at A11- napolis, in the county of Anne Arundel and State ofMaryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inDisappearing Towers for Submarines, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to improvements in sea-going vessels of thesubmersible or submarine type, and has particular reference to providingsuch vessels with one or more towers movable upwardly above the deck.

Such a tower will be a substitute for the ordinary conning tower nowused and may be constructed to serve various purposes each of which willincrease the efficiency of submarines.

The present invention shows the inventive idea in the form of a towerthat will enable several persons who are aboard the submersible to beelevated at the same time, without raising the vessel itself, in orderto bring the eyesight of such persons above the sea-level and afiord allthe persons a view of any vessels that may be afloat in that vicinity. T

The new form of vertically-movable tower may also be used to effect anair-ventilation of the submarine vessel without raising the vessel tothe surface so that its upper deck shall be exposed above the waterssurface.

The invention is illustrated in the annexed drawing, in which is shown avertical section of a portion of a submarine hull.

Referring now to the drawing by designating numerals, 6, designates theexterior bottom of the hull; on top at the highest part of the hull isan upper deck, 9, and next below is a ceiling, 11, and the space betweensaid upper deck, 9, and the ceiling, 11, constitutes an air-chamber, 10,formed within the top of the hull.

The lowermost deck, 19, is also the floor of the engine room, and anintermediate deck, 18, which is the ceiling of the engine room separatesthe lower compartments, 16, from the upper compartments, 17; between thelower deck, 19, and the bottom, 6, of the hull is the space, 20, forballast water, and for the reception of sea-water that is required tocause the vessel to submerge. Of course the bulkheads, decks, and otherordinary interior construction of the hull, may

be planned by the constructor in any different way from that here shown.

Coming now to describe one form of the embodied invention, a verticalcylinder, 12, of any preferred construction is provided, and the samehas fixed position within the hull and extends through the decks of, thesubmarine vessel. This cylinder has a closed lower end, 13, and itsupper end 14, and the packing seat, 29, in the upper end, in the presentinstance, is flush with the top of the upper deck.

The circular wall of the cylinder has openings, 21, 22, which maycommunicate with lower and upper compartments, 16, and 17, respectively;doors, 23 are provided to close said cylinder openings.

A hollow circular tower, 24, fits like a piston movably within saidvertical cylinder, 12, and this tower is provided on its exterior withcircumferential packing rings, 25, that contact with the inner surfaceof said cylinder. The hollow movable tower, 24, has a.

closed bottom, 26, and a closed top, 27, and a flange, 28, around thetop projects horizontally and when this tower is in the loweredposition, as shown 1n the drawing, said top flange, 28, contacts withthe packing seat, 29, positioned atthe top end of the cylinder. Thepacking seat, 29, and the flange, 28, pressing down upon it makes atight joint that excludes sea-water.

It will be understood that when the tower 24, has this down position inthe hull it will have disappeared from the view of any person afloat onany vessel that may be in the vicinity of this submarine.

The broken line, 8 8, extending horizontally, indicates the position ofthe surface of the sea-water, when the vessel is afloat.

The vertically-movable tower, 24, is provided in its wall with doors, 30and 31, which coincide with the doors, 23, in the wall of the cylinder,12, when the tower is down. A. floor, 32, is approximately in the middleof the vertically-movable tower, and forms a lower and an upper chamber,33 and 34, each high enough to permit an ordinary man to stand uprighttherein. A ladder, 35, may be carried in the lower chamber and the sameextends to the floor, 32, of the upper chamber, and this ladder enablespersons who enter the lower charnber to ascend to the upper chamber.When V the tower is raised the position its upper part takes risindicated by broken lines. It

will be understood that persons in the upper chamber, '34, of the towerwhen the latter is raised will be at an' elevation entirely above thehull and the top deck, *9, of the sub- 7 marine during the time thetower occupies the raised position, and that such elevation i of thetower willafiord those persons a range of observation that hasinotxbeenobtainable on submarines as heretofore constructed.

V The upper chamber this upwardly- V movable tower may also carrya'periscope;

'7 pump is 'an' attached pipe, one of whichis designated, 38,-and'theother, 89; these two pipes'pass through the lower deck -19- 'and openinto the storage-water, or bilge-water, space, 20; Each of these pipeshas a cut-01f valve, 40. ,Attached also to oppositesides of the pump,37, is a pipe designated atone side tl, and at the othersidedesignated,42.

These last Inamed pipes pass through the lower "deck and extend alongthej-water jspace,'20,-and then pass iipward through :the bottom, 13, ofthe cylinderjbelowthe closed lower en'd, 4 5, ot-the movable piston 24.Each pipe-or" the two lastnamed, has

the several cut-off valves the piston, turret V and gun maybe raised orlowered by the "p mp l I Copies transpare t may be obtained for"jfivecents ah, byaddressing the Commissioner ef Patents, r Y iWashington,D.C. r r

n in the-presence of twoawitnesses; a -cut-ofl' valve,43. By manuaHy bei-afing V I 7 Having described my invention what i claim and desire tosecure by United States Letters Patent is," '7 i .r v

A submarine vessel having a' hull provided with an incloseduppermostdeck, an inclosed lowermostrdeck, and an inclosed intermediate deckwhich form 'lower and upper compartments; a hollow vertical cylinder infixed position and extending from the lowermost deckup through theintermediate deck and with its upper open end of the cylinder flush"with the'top surface of the upper deckthe walls of this cylinder beingprovided with a door opening-communicating into said lower compartmentand a sectower .movable like .a piston within said fixed cylinder andthe "Walls of the movable tower having twodoor-openings and doors whichare positionedrelativelyitothe 7 said two door-openings in the fixedcylinder so as to coincide with the latter when the movable tower hasits disappeared. position,

and'when the movable towerhasits elevated position one-of its-saiddoor-openings will coincide with the doorfopen'ingqini the fixedcylinderthat communicates with said .upper compartment while the otherdoor-opening of the tower at the same time will be above the, upperdeck' and exposed to the .atmosv phere." 1 Y Y .7 In testimony whereoflaflixmy signature o I ROBERT Witnesses: Q 7 Louis C. KLERLEIN,

IZVELLA E. BAGLE Y s. NOAH;

0nd door-opening communicating into said Q upper compartment; andahollow cylindric

